by On August 18, District Judge Reed Charles O. Connor was appointed chief judge of the Northern District of Texas, becoming the first judge from Fort Worth to do so since 1972.
According to Bobby Ahdieh, dean of the Texas A&M School of Law, the fact that one of the Fort Worth judges has been elevated to the position of chief judge does demonstrate the significance that the Northern District places on Fort Worth.
According to Ahdieh, the top judge is principally in charge of running the court, not supervising other judges or making decisions regarding individual cases. He clarified that, like a chief operations officer, that entails allocating cases and overseeing workloads.
O’Connor is taking over the position after Dallas-based U.S. District Judge David Godbey, who was the head for over three years, resigned to assume senior status. According to Ahdieh, chief judges typically serve seven-year terms.
The Northern District of Texas, which is made up of seven divisions and is situated in the north-central region of the state, is one of Texas’ four federal districts. With sections in Fort Worth, Amarillo, Abilene, Lubbock, San Angelo, and Wichita Falls, the court has its headquarters in Dallas.
According to Ahdieh, seniority and other considerations determine who serves as the district’s chief judge, although it is noteworthy that Fort Worth is now the court’s administrative hub.
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According to Dee Kelly Jr., a partner at Kelly Hart & Hallman, Reed O. Connor’s selection as chief is a well-earned honor for a judge who is highly regarded and extremely diligent. We at the Tarrant County bar are all proud that Judge O. Connor is a resident of Fort Worth.
O Connor has proven to have a great work ethic throughout his career, according to Richard Roper, a former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas and current partner at Vartabedian Hester & Haynes.
According to Roper, he reads the briefs, is available, and is eager to work to complete the task. He consistently demonstrates that work ethic in the courtroom, which is a defining characteristic of the Fort Worth practice.
O Connor, 60, spent nine years as a federal prosecutor in the Northern District of Texas before being nominated to the court by then-President George W. Bush in 2007.
Prior to that, he worked for the district attorney’s office in Tarrant County for four years as a prosecutor.
In addition, O Connor has experience in Washington, D.C. He was twice assigned to the U.S. Senate, where he worked with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, as chief counsel to the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Citizenship in 2005 and as counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in 2003.
O’Connor has rendered decisions during his tenure on a variety of contentious political matters, including gun control, transgender rights, and the Affordable Care Act.
The state of Texas has favored O Connor, as seen by the numerous lawsuits it has brought or co-filed against the federal government that have reached his court. On a number of subjects, including health care and transgender rights, he has rendered decisions that have supported the state’s viewpoint.
He has dealt with intricate matters that have global implications, like the criminal lawsuit against Boeing Co. for the 737 Max crashes.
O Connor, a native of Houston, graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston and a law degree from the South Texas College of Law in Houston. Prior to joining the prosecution, he worked for five years as a civil litigator at a Texas legal company.
Since 2009, he has served on the Judicial Conference of the United States’ Committee on the Judicial Branch, which sets policy for the federal judiciary. O’Connor has two adult daughters with his wife, Tammy Herrin.
The Fort Worth Report’s business editor is Bob Francis. [email protected] is his email address.
Disclaimer: Kelly Hart endorses the legislative coverage of Texas in The Fort Worth Report.Decisions on news at the Fort Worth Report are decided without consulting our board members or sponsors. Find out more about our policy on editorial independence here.
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